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Shrinking Knew Just What to Do With Derek


As nice as it was to have him as this show’s silly little rock, it’s even more satisfying to see him — and Ted McGinley — get more to do.

It hasn’t always worked out great for him on the small screen, and yes, this is where we make the obligatory note that his late entry into a number of established series as their quality started dipping once earned him the unfortunate title of “The Patron Saint of Jumping the Shark.” But that was never really fair. In fact, you could actually make the argument that it was a badge of honor: Multiple long-running shows looked for an injection of vibes as they were lagging and all of them pointed at McGinley and said “Hey, there’s a guy who can turn this around.” There’s something kind of noble about that. A few episodes ago, his character said the phrase “What, you want me to pull my pants down and make my ass clap?” and it took me nearly 900 words to even mention this incredible moment in television history because that’s how good Ted McGinley has been as Derek this season.

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